13 Inspiring Homeschool Activities That Any Parent Can Do
Ready to make homeschooling more fun? Of course you are, that’s why you’re here to read about these awesome, inspiring homeschool activities.
You know very well that homeschooling takes less time than traditional schooling and provides you with plenty of quality time to enjoy with your child.
(That’s why homeschooling is better than traditional school!)
With this extra time, you get to introduce fun homeschooling traditions to your routine and organize group activities with other homeschooled kids that enhance your child’s life experience.
And I’ve got some great activity ideas to share with you! You can do these activities with your child or get inspired by what I’ve presented to invent your own versions.
Enjoy!
How to Make Homeschool Fun for Every Age
Every kid needs fun and time to play—even your high schooler. Of course, the idea of “fun” changes with age, but keeping this element in your homeschooling schedule is crucial.
Kindergarten Homeschool Activities
Having fun while homeschooling kindergarten is easy! Include lots of movement, mess, and unexpected use of daily objects.
1. Imitate Famous Paintings
I love this activity. Not only do kids have fun dressing up, but they also get to know famous paintings and appreciate art.
Here are some examples of what I did with my kids.
2. Play Bowling with Toilet Paper
Do you remember when COVID first hit and everybody was stacking toilet paper? Well, it turns out, you can do some fun things with it!
My kids loved creating a bowling alley with them, and played the whole morning. You can also do towers, shelters, walls, and whatever you can imagine.
Elementary Students’ Homeschool Activities
Elementary students can not only enjoy fun activities, but also help them plan.
The older they are, the more independence you can give them. It’s also a good idea to let them make some choices to their liking.
3. Make Your Own Pizzas
Cooking is always fun, but making pizzas is easy for kids, and they can put whatever they like on the dough. Kindergarten kids can also do it. But with older ones, you can teach measuring and fractions if you feel like adding some educational touch to it.
4. Have a Picnic
Make your kids plan a picnic. Tell them to choose what they want to take, how to store it and keep it cool, and choose the games they’d like to play.
Kids love when you give them responsibilities. This will help you break the routine, and eating outside is always fun.
Middle School Kids’ Homeschool Activities
Middle school students like fun activities that bring something more than just fun. They feel grown up and will only engage if they find an activity useful, interesting, or important.
5. Stargazing
You don’t have to include astrology in your curriculum to do this, but it would be a bonus.
Why is this activity fun? First, you’ll stay up late.
Second, you can plan a quick field trip if you and your kids go to a place outside of the city to get rid of light pollution. You can also install a Night Sky App and get alerts when a star shoots through the sky.
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6. Volunteer at a Local Animal Shelter
It’s good to start early with volunteering programs to foster caring attributes in your child.
Animals are easy to start with, and you can organize a campaign among friends and collect some money to buy food and toys for an animal shelter.
Just don’t blame me if you come back home with a new pet!
High School Students’ Homeschool Activities
High school students need fun too!
Their concept of fun, however, is different from a kindergarten kid. So, make them feel important and give them lots of responsibility.
7. Make them Plan Your Vacation
Your high schooler will be delighted to plan your next vacation. Make them choose hotels and flights, and have them plan the family budget.
If they are learning Spanish, for example, as one of their electives, they can plan a trip to Mexico and choose the places to visit and things to eat and drink. If you homeschool more than one child, you can make them compete, present their proposals, and later, make the whole family vote.
8. Work in a Co-working Space
In high school, there’s probably a lot of independent studying involved. Why not break the routine and study in an Internet café or a co-working space. This will make your teenager feel like a digital nomad and show them that many people live this way.
4 Fun Homeschool Traditions to Start
It’s also a good idea to create your own homeschool traditions. These can be related to the first and last day of the homeschooling year or to celebrate little traditions every Friday.
First Day of Homeschool
The first day of the homeschooling year should be important every year. Make it memorable by doing something fun.
9. Make a Scavenger Hunt with New School Supplies
I don’t know a kid that doesn’t get excited about new school supplies. Make it even more exciting by creating a scavenger hunt!
Hide the supplies all over the house and make your kid discover them and win by doing small challenges that can also reveal what they’ll learn this year.
You might like: The Ultimate Homeschool Supplies List for Beginners
10. Do a Time Capsule
I love doing a Time Capsule, putting it in the ground, and digging it out on the last day of the school year.
You can make your kid write how much they weigh, how tall they are, what they like, what are some of their hobbies, and who their friends are. Then, take pictures to compare them a year later. Your kid can also write a letter to their future self, talking about what things they want to achieve in the coming months.
Make sure you store all the information in a metal container covered in plastic to avoid decomposition.
You might like: 14 Homeschool Apps Your Middle or High School Student Can Enjoy
Homeschool Fun Friday
11. Make an Annual Family Cookbook
Why not try a new recipe every Friday and create an Annual Family Cookbook? Take pictures of the process and finished products.
You can create categories such as soups, desserts, meat, seafood, or by country and look for recipes from all over the world. I also recommend this book: Have a Bite. Unfortunately, it’s not available in English yet, but you can practice your Spanish!
You might like: The Easy Guide to Food and Drink Vocabulary in Spanish
Last Day of Homeschool
It’s important to make a formal stop before vacation and make your child enjoy the feeling of achievement.
12. Create a Slideshow Video
I’m sure you have taken hundreds of pictures throughout the year. Why not put them in a slideshow and go through them with a bowl of popcorn?
To make the whole experience even more fun, get your kid an “I survived homeschooling t-shirt”! Or, if you love DIY homeschool ideas, you can make one with your kid!
3 Social Activities and Homeschool Group Ideas
If you’re worried about the socialization of your homeschooled child, make sure you add fun social and group activities.
Social Activities Ideas
13. Visit a Nursing Home
Remember I told you that it’s a good idea to start volunteering programs with animals, but it’s also very important to show that people also need help.
Since visiting an orphanage or a nursing home can be an emotionally challenging experience, you can organize with other homeschooling families.
Together you can collect whatever is needed, prepare a performance, bake cookies, etc.
Homeschool Group Projects
Homeschool group projects are important because they teach collaboration skills needed for achieving a common goal. It’s also great preparation for adult life.
14. Create a Community Garden
Creating a community garden with your local homeschool co-op can be a brilliant and engaging project. The kids will love all the stages of this awesome activity. Start by making a survey of what they can plant and research how to do it.
A community garden requires consistency and teaches an important lesson about sustainability and eating local resources.
You might like: The Simple Way to Start a Homeschool Co-Op You Love
15. Science Fair
Traditionally schooled kids love the annual science fair, and there’s no reason why you should deprive your kid of this experience.
I recommend organizing a science fair with other homeschooling families. This makes the whole experience more fun and lets you and your child see what other families are doing and learn about their methods.
Ready for a Fun Homeschooling Year?
Remember that you and your kid will benefit from fun activities during the year.
These will prevent burnout on both sides and will have a positive influence on the learning outcomes, health, and overall development of your child.
Fun activities will also help you build a nurturing relationship with your children. When your kid finally graduates and gets admitted to college, you’ll be both able to look back at the homeschooling years and say, “that was fun!”
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